PoloDriver

Volkswagen Motorsport, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were officially crowned 2013 WRC World Champions at a gala evening in Paris last week. The official FIA Gala saw the Frenchmen collect their trophies for their dominance in the 2013 championship. The pair clinched the title as far back as October, before the season reached its climax at Rally Wales GB. ‘I look back on an incredible year. If anybody had told us at the beginning of the season that Julien and I would end the season with nine wins and the World Championship title, I probably would have sent them straight to the team doctor. For Julien and me a dream has come true and we are both extremely proud and honoured to finally be able to hold the FIA trophy,’ Ogier remarked after receiving the much-deserved prize.

The manufacturers’ title also went to Volkswagen, with the team claiming the honours in its debut season, an amazing feat. Dr Heinz-Jakob Neußer, a member of the Volkswagen management board for technical development, accepted the trophy, while the championship-winning car, the Polo R WRC was parked on the stage, highlighting its part in the latest chapter of Volkswagen’s motorsport success. The outfit has been rewarded with other honours, too. The FIA Facebook page has voted Ogier and Ingrassia’s leap in the Polo R WRC over the notorious ‘Mickey’s Jump’ hilltop at Rally Italy as the ‘FIA Motorsport Moment of the Year 2013’. The award was voted for by rally fans.’

Ogier has also collected the the ‘Caschi d’Oro’ (‘Golden Helmet’) in Bologna, awarded by Italian motoring magazine Autosprint. Volkswagen also received an award for its outstanding achievement in this year’s World Rally Championship. Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, father of the Volkswagen WRC project and member of the Audi AG management board, accepted the prize with Ogier. The Frenchman then flew back to France to continue testing the Polo R WRC in pre-event sessions for the 2014 Monte Carlo Rally, which starts next month. Ogier, together with fellow VW drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen has been performing test drives in the French Alps. Ogier, Latvala and Mikkelsen, who will divide up the test work throughout the week, covered 800 kilometres during the first four days of test driving, some of which took place at altitudes of 1500 metres.